Bed Ridden
by Paranoid Escapism
Summary: Near didn't like being sick. But he'd quietly accept it of Matt came to visit him everyday, like this. [Matt X Near]


**Author:** Paranoid Aza

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I wish I owned Death Note. And yeah, I wish I could fit in Mello's sexy, sexy pants. How the heck does Matt get those off, anyway?

**Summary:** Near didn't like being sick. But he'd quietly accept it of Matt came to visit him everyday, like this. [Matt x Near

**Rating & Warnings:** K+. This fanfiction oneshot is fine for all ages, although it does contain a kiss. Aww. And a more than slightly enraged Mello. Even more aww. Er.. slightly bad/anticlimactic ending. And... that's it! Don't do drugs.

**Author's Notes: **I actually wrote this a while ago, only half finished, so I hope you guys cant figure out where I left off and then picked back up. I don't think its that obvious... but I'm the kinda person that worries about everything. Teeheehee.

**Pairings:** Matt X Near (you know you like it)

**Setting: **Wammy's orphanage before Mello leaves.

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Near didn't like being sick. He wasn't one to complain, and being sick in general wasn't too bad, but still, he didn't like being sick. Sick usually meant the infirmary and the infirmary meant hours upon days of boredom. Still, he wasn't one to complain. The walls were cute and covered in happy dancing animals and the beds were relatively just as comfortable as the one in his room. Even if it didn't have the privacy that his room offered. That wasn't why he disliked it though.

As nice as the nurse that looked after the place was, she was hardly capable of keeping up with Near's need to work his mind. The young genius was fidgety. He needed legos or puzzles or _something_ to keep himself from converting number after number of impossibly long equations in his head. Toys were forbidden from the neat and tidy infirmary, though, and the elderly nurse insisted that Near read to 'expand his mind' instead. Now, he wasn't one to complain, but Near did not think that books ranging in difficulty from _Harry Potter_ to _The Little Train Engine That Could_ were very effective in 'expanding his mind'.

That was why Near did not like being sick. The lack of stimulation more often than not allowed his mind to wander. During that time, he could think about anything and any_one_, getting so lost in his thoughts that it was almost as if he had entered a state of comatose.

That could have very well been why Near didn't notice Matt until after he had entered the infirmary and asked for a wrist brace. Matt had major carpal tunnel syndrome in his thumbs, as well as minor in his wrists. His wrists usually didn't bother him unless he underwent days of intense game playing in his room, of which Roger usually scolded him for.

Other than that, and a few more 'common knowledge' things, Near didn't know very much about the boy with the messy red hair. He knew that Matt liked to play video games, was the third in line for the title of L's heir, and was Mello's best friend. His eyesight was poor and strained, hence the goggles. Matt was good at sports, although he usually chose to sit on the sidelines and play some hand held game than join in; Mello usually ended up forcefully dragging the boy into the game in the end, though. Near knew that Matt didn't like to put a lot of effort into things, he would usually just stare out the window, letting his imagination wander instead of paying attention during class.

Near really liked it when Matt zoned out like that. The sunlight would reflect off of his favorite pair of goggles, worn atop his head because he had been told not to wear them inside, leaving him blind to most of the things written on the board during class. His eyes would widen and gaze glaze over, as if he were looking though a different dimension at something both interesting and shocking at the same time. His head, as well as his whole body, would seem to lean against the support of one elbow braced against the surface of a table and, chin rested comfortably in his gloveless (another thing he was not allowed to wear) hand, Matt would seem to drift into a comatose state very much like Near's. When this happened though, Mello would usually have to smack him in order to return Matt to his senses.

It had long become a habit for Near to watch the slightly older boy whenever he slipped into this state. He had sometimes found himself staring, head rested against his palm in a similar fashion as he wondered what the other boy could possibly be thinking, among other things. Whenever he found himself doing this, Near had to mentally chide the part of him that had become distracted.

Over time though, it had become almost like a daily ritual for Near to study the quite boy during class. Near soon discovered things about himself as well, things he was positive had only just recently come into development. He found himself perking up at the sound of Mello's voice, for it was fairly certain that Matt would not be far behind the blond. Every time the sound of footsteps could be heard shuffling closer to the playroom, Near would feel the need to look up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the gamer as he walked back to his room. There had been one day when Near felt foolish enough to look out of the window overlooking the small kick-ball field in search of Matt. That had been when he had fallen in love with the auburn-haired boy's smile.

Since that day, Near had frequently chosen to position his Lego building next to that wide window.

L would probably tell him that he was acting like a foolish little kid, and Near would have to agree (on his own opinions, not simply because he idolized the man). Near thought he was beginning to act very much like the love-struck characters from the shows that he overheard whenever another of the orphans was brave enough to use the television in the playroom that he usually claimed alone. If (for whatever possible reason) he was asked though, Near would most probably admit it with little hesitation.

He had a juvenile, illogical, yet totally and completely irreversible crush on Matt.

"Oh, hey Near," Matt said, seeming to only have just spotted the younger boy sitting on his usual bed within the infirmary. Unlike Mello, Matt had no qualms against Near's existence, and honestly Near didn't see why he would anyway. Near was Mello's rival, not Matt's. Besides, Matt didn't exactly seem like the type of person who would hate somebody else because they were smarter than him.

Matt took a seat on the infirmary bed next to his as he waited for the nurse to find him a brace, careful to keep his injured wrist rested comfortably in his lap while he leaned back, braced against the other one. Near stared at the tender limb. Even when it did start hurting, Matt normally wouldn't have to resort to the splinting device, meaning the wrist must _really_ be hurting him now. Near wondered how long the brown-haired boy had been playing for, and why Roger or one of the other staff had not caught on or stopped him up to this point.

"Are you sick again?" Matt asked as he brought his sore hand up to idly bite on the nail of a random finger. "Is that why you're in here and haven't been to class?"

Near nodded slightly. There was more to his quiet than just the desire to be the best and be the best alone like the arrogant bastard he is, as Mello had once so eloquently put it. Near was better with math and numbers than people and being able to communicate socially with them. This was one of the few time in his life that Near wished that very fact wasn't so. He wanted to say something, be somebody interesting so that Matt would want to stay a little longer. Maybe if he was as interesting as he was smart, Matt would want to spend all day with Near; the older boy would forget all about going outside and playing with Mello, or whatever it was he was planning on doing after getting his brace. What was the point of being a genius, Near wondered to himself, if he couldn't even talk to the person he liked?

Even if it was just a silly childish crush.

Matt nodded also and it seemed that he too had run out of things to say to a boy genius with no social skills. It didn't really matter, though, because at that moment the elderly nurse came rushing out of the storage room, a small closet space that held all of the medical supplies and such, brace in one hand and cell phone pressed up against her ear with the other.

"Oh no, not again. All right, I'll be right there," she said into the device, speech as hurried as her footsteps as she ended the call on the phone and dropped it into a pocket on her apron. She maneuvered quickly around the bed, stopping only briefly to hand Matt his brace and tuck the covers tighter around Near's legs. He wondered if she was worried that he would try to escape or something, although the thought of going down to the playroom and retrieving a box of dominoes was certainly an appealing one.

"I'm sorry dear, but it seems Mello got into an argument over the baseball game that they were playing outside and, well, you know how he is with a bat in his hands. I'm sorry to leave you both like this, but Matt darling will you be kind enough to watch over Near while I'm gone?"

Matt nodded mutely, probably thinking along the same lines as Near as the nurse exited the infirmary, softly shutting the door behind herself. Why did a boy as old and as smart as Near need a baby sitter?

The young genius shifted his eyes as the sound of Velcro reached him. Matt was positioning his wrist inside of his brace, long sleeve of his black and white shirt pulled up to his elbow.

"So how sick are you?" Matt inquired, not looking up from where he was adjusting the tightness of the brace. Near let his eyes flutter up to Matt's, the elder boy's orbs hidden beneath thick bangs and the yellow tint of his goggles.

"I've had worse, if that's what you're asking. I can live through it."

Matt laughed and Near couldn't stop his heart from doing an unconscious flutter . That was a nice sound; he wanted to hear more. "That's not what I meant. I mean from a normal person's stand point, how sick are you?"

Near wasn't exactly sure what Matt was asking for. Nonetheless, he underwent a mental check of his body's condition. "My head is sore, my body is achy, and I probably have a temperature of around," he brought his hand up to feel beneath his bangs, measuring the heat radiating off his forehead, "one hundred two point seven, possibly eight degrees."

Matt smiled. Oh that smile! The thought of such a pleasingly wonderful thing directed at him made Near's eyes widen, only ever so slightly and hopefully unnoticed. He turned his face away when Matt slid off the bed he had been sitting on and walked one of two steps to Near's, smile still in place. A gentle creaking made the young genius look up. Matt was sitting on his bed! So close to him. Not many people had ever willingly gotten this close before, save Mello, but that usually only happened when the blond was yelling and about ready to beat him into the ground. But this wasn't just Mello or any other child in the orphanage, this was _Matt_.

"Hmm," the brown haired boy thought out, leaning closer to better examine the young genius' face. He slid his goggles down to dangle around his neck and blinked gorgeously wide brown eyes. "I guess you do look a little flushed, your cheeks are pinkish."

Near brought a hand up to feel the sides of his face, inwardly surprised at how excessively warm it felt. It was only natural for cheeks, and other parts of one's face to become flushed and reddish during an illness or exposure to hostile temperature, Near knew otherwise though. Sickness for him usually brought about a yellowish, pasty complexion to his already horribly pallid skin. This redness was coming from something else, only increasing when the cause leaned forward more and brought the unsplinted hand against Near's forehead.

Matt's fingers were cold, a striking contrast to his fevered skin. Near resisted the urge to lean into the touch, fighting inwardly against the thirteen-year-old part of him that just wanted to touch and be touched by the person he liked. It felt so good to have his heart speed up, a fluttery sensation jittering through his body. He resisted the wanton whimper that threatened to escape when Matt removed his hand, opening eyes he didn't know he had closed. Near felt like and idiot, something he often found himself experiencing whenever he did something Matt related. The feeling was not reveled in.

"Well, you certainly do feel warm," Matt commented, swiftly brushing the back of his hand over Near's enflamed cheeks before returning it to himself, where he rested it on the legs that were now crossed atop the bed, along with the rest of his body. Matt kept smiling to himself, as if he knew something that Near didn't (highly unlikely) or he was mocking the younger boy in his head. Near suddenly wasn't too fond of that smile and he leaned back, just now realizing that he was inched forward, almost expectantly. What in the world would he be expecting?

"What did you say you thought your temperature was again?" Matt inquired, eyes aimed at something just off to the side.

"Either one hundred two point seven or one hundred two point eight degrees Fahrenheit."

Matt leaned forward suddenly, the space between him and Near so little that the folds of two boys' baggy shirts brushed as the other boy reached out to grab something off the nightstand next to the bed. He held it in his hands as he retracted, spinning the cream coloured electric thermometer around his intriguing gamer's fingers. Near watched the small object with controlled fascination. He had always known that the other boy's fingers were long and slender, spiny thanks to all of the hours of game play. What would it be like, Near wondered, to have those slender pieces curling around his hair? On complete impulse to the thought, he brought a hand up and wrapped a piece of hair between his fingers. It was an unconscious habit, like L sucking on his fingers or Mello's obsessive chocolate consumption. Matt did not seem to have a compulsive action, at least not yet he didn't.

"Shall we test you, then?" the brown haired boy asked absentmindedly as he stared at the twirling object in his fingertips.

"Test me?"

"To see if you're right or not. I just wanna see if you can really tell the temperature of your body from just the heat on your forehead. It's okay if you're wrong, I won't tell Mello or anything. Neither of us would ever hear the end of it if he found out that you were wrong about something."

So even Matt got tired of his best friend's obsessive addiction to being number one? It wasn't like Near was annoyed by Mello or anything, he simply had other things he would rather be doing than having to listen to the blond's verbal abuse, and endure the occasional physical abuse. Like watching Matt through the playroom window.

Near shifted on his bum and eyed the thermometer. With a shrug of his shoulders he nodded ever so slightly and answered, "All right."

Matt's smile widened slightly. "Okay, open your mouth and say 'ahh'," he instructed, demonstrating what Near was supposed to do himself.

The genius gulped and willed himself not to look at Matt's mouth. The other boy's tongue was, like his lips, soft and velvety looking. It was so tempting to just lean forward and... Near clamped his eyes shut, blocking the image from his mind. He opened his mouth as instructed, waiting to feel the cold tang of the tasteless metal under his tongue.

When the object didn't come for at _least_ seven point four seconds, Near cracked an eye open to wonder what was taking so long. The sight surprised him. Matt was close, so close that barely even and inch separated them. His eyes were closed, mouth still open from when he had told Near to do so, the thermometer grasped in his clenched hand, resting on the bed by his legs. He must not have been breathing, because Near would no doubt have been able to feel the gentle caress of breath across his face. The young boy breathed shallowly, watching with wide eyes and a rapidly fluttering heart beat. He waited for something to happen, _anything_ to happen, anticipating whatever Matt was planning on doing.

Despite all the anticipation, Near didn't expect the gasp that left him when Matt shot forward, closing the space between them and pressing their lips together in an innocent, open mouthed kiss. It was surprising, yet welcome at the same time. Near had never been kissed before and it was almost everything that the girls on those television shows dreamed about. Not to mention that it was _Matt_ that was kissing him; the least likely person in the world, save Mello.

Near whined in the back of his throat (a clearly unconscious action) as Matt began to pull away. He didn't want the contact to end, the kiss was too nice and sweet and welcome to end so soon. Near followed the older boy as he pulled away, threading his fingers through the ratty red hair to hold him still. He crushed the soft lips against his, whimpering slightly as he eagerness had caused their teeth to clang together ever so slightly and he found embarrassment in the inexperienced mess up. Bruises would no doubt form in result to the brutal treatment, but Near couldn't care less. This pressure was the only thing his distracted mind knew right now and he wanted more and more of whatever was making him feel so fuzzy from Matt. Maybe this wasn't how a kiss was supposed to work but it felt good nonetheless.

He could feel the corner of Matt's lips quirk upwards in a smile, bringing Near out of his stupor and back to the infirmary, where he suddenly felt very aware that there was a large population of peers so close. Delicate hands on his shoulders were softly pushing them apart, separating their lips and bringing a blush to the young genus' face. Had he really been acting so eager just now?

Matt snorted as he opened his eyes, squinting slightly due to his poor eyesight, and viewed the blush that Near knew was no doubt staining his usually colourless face. " You know, if Mello were here right now, he'd beat you -" Near nodded slightly, feeling numb "- and then he'd probably kill me. Or my DS. He'd smash my DS, that's what he'd do."

"If Mello were here, you wouldn't be talking to me, would you?"

The older boy chose not to respond. His smile widened, breaking to show his pearly teeth, and he brought his unsplinted hand up to curl it around a white lock. "The nurse will be back soon."

"With Mello and whoever he beat up," Near agreed.

Matt puckered his lips together and looked up at the ceiling. This was the gamer's 'thinking face', Near had come to know from countless days of staring. It usually appeared when an important question was sprung of him suddenly or when he was considering a possible outcome for a situation that involved Mello and Mello's brutish ways. Near stared at the older boy's parted lips, still transfixed on the intimate action that had taken place just moments ago.

"Uhh..." Near blurted out without really thinking (a rare occurrence). Matt's attention was brought back to him and with a smile the redhead placed a peck on the corner of the young genus' mouth, leaving Near unable to say anything further.

"I promise to talk to you later. Some other time, when the possibility of Mello maiming either of us isn't so imminent, okay?"

The redhead leaned in for one final kiss, one that lasted long enough for Near to slip his arms around the older boy's neck, regardless of the pair of goggles that was pressing into his collar bone. A happy shiver down his spine made his young heart flutter as Matt pressed their chests together, splinted hand against the small of Near's back, and the white-haired boy sighed contently.

Then it ended. Matt rose from the bed and as soon as he was half way down the infirmary sitting on a crisp white bed the door flew open with Mello's rage. Perfect timing, expected of a skilled video game player.

The blond stormed into the room, savagely wiping a trail of blood that was sneaking away from a small cut above his eye with the excessively long sleeve of his black shirt. He immediately sat down next to his best friend, sneering at the dark haired boy and nurse that had followed behind him. The boy had what appeared to be two black eyes and a broken nose, as well as blood dripping from a cut in his lips and forming bruises around and below his collar bone. Near suspected that the broken nose had been the work of a rogue bat in the hands of an enraged Mello, from there the blond most probably had thrown the wooden weapon away and went for a more personal way to beat people up - with his fists.

The elderly nurse went right away to assessing the dark haired boy while Matt and Mello conversed in low voices. It took a while, but Mello eventually took notice of his rival's presence and whipped around to direct his leer at the white-haired genus.

"Sick _again?_" Near nodded, although he was pretty sure that Mello would have been the first to take notice of his absence from class. The blond growled, irritated, "Well you had _better_ get well soon."

"Thank you Mello."

"Stu- That's not what I meant! Of course I don't want you to get better! But if I'm going to surpass you, its going to be when you're well and fully functioning, got it? I'm going to make you admit that I'm the better and am more fit for the title of L."

The youngest boy surprised the urge to roll his eyes, a childish and juvenile action, and cast his gaze behind Mello. Matt, goggles already back in place over his eyes, gave him a small smile unseen by anyone else. This urge he didn't repress, and replied back with a small ghost of a smile of his own.

'_I promise to talk to you later_.'

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Mello: -growls-

Aza: -whimper cower-

Please leave a review. You have no idea how amazing it will make me feel and how much it will inspire me to write more. And tell me if there are any grammer/spelling mistakes. Much love!


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